According to an analysis by Kamco Invest, Oman’s Muscat Securities Market became the strongest performing index in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in 2025, surging 28.2 percent year-on-year.
In the recent report, the financial company indicated that the MSX 30 Index finished the year at 5,866.8 points, and this was one of the best performances in the GCC markets.
Based on the analysis, the index peaked at 5,985.66 points in mid-December and reached its lowest level of 4,223.83 points in early April, a recovery of 38.9 percent of the trough of the year.
The establishment of a strong capital market ecosystem is also an important issue for the GCC nations in their quest to diversify their economy to avoid reliance on oil revenues.
Kamco Invest stated that “The aggregate MSCI GCC index reported a gain of 1.6 percent during the year, despite largely positive performance at the country level. At the exchange level, Oman witnessed the biggest gains during the year with a double-digit surge of 28.2 percent.”
The report has further added that Boursa Kuwait was the second-best performing market within the GCC with record returns of 21.2 percent over the year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange rose by 6.1 percent, and the Dubai Financial Market improved by 17.2 percent with selective strength in real estate and services stocks.
However, the Qatar Exchange increased by a slight margin of 1.8 percent, whereas the Bahrain Bourse increased by 4.1 percent in 2025. Despite a 12.8 percent fall, Saudi Arabia had the biggest share in the activity of regional listings in 2025.
The Kingdom witnessed the debut of 13 companies on the Tadawul All Share Index, including two companies that were transferred between the parallel and main markets. Moreover, the Nomu market listed 28 companies.
The largest initial public offering in Saudi Arabia was Flynas in 2025, which raised SR4.1 billion ($1.1 billion), and is one of the largest aviation listings in the region.
Other major IPOs in the year recorded were those of Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction Co., Specialized Medical Co., Derayah Financial Co., and Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co.
Kamco Invest further added, “At the sector level, the yearly performance (in the region) was skewed toward decliners with over 30 percent fall in Utilities, Insurance, and Consumer Durable indices. On the gainers’ side, Telecom, Banks, and Diversified Financials indices showed double gains that offset the overall weakness.”
